Friday Dec 18,2009

I went to Utah. Finally after over a year I saw my family. I have missed them so much. This is Friday adventures. I woke early took brother Brent to work at the poop factory-more on that later-I had plans to visit Alicia my longest friend but she got suddenly ill and we were not able to meet up. So I texted brother Daniel. He is a technical support guy for Sorensen Relay. What? You are asking yourself...It is a phone service for the deaf. There is a camera so an operator can see the person making the phone call. The person uses sign language to communicate what needs to be said and the operator tells the person on the other end what the deaf person said. Make sense??? Well he helps people who are having issues with their unit and helps customers install their units. He is so cute isnt he...we met up at In N Out for burgers. It was so fun to see him before Christmas.



This is brother Brent. Almost 2 months ago he was at work in the golf cart seen above. He took a tumble and next thing he knew he was in the hospital with a splitting headache. He has been told that he fell down, lost consciousness and when he came to he did not know who he was. That lasted for a short time. At the hospital his wife Jenni was shocked to learn that Brent thought she was the neighbor girl. Needless to say he had some serious brain trauma. He was in ICU for several days and then in the hospital for several more. Poor boy. I was out of my mind being in Portland and moving and working. I wanted to be there so bad.

Fast forward to Friday....I got the honor of going to the Orem City Waste Water Reclamation Plant. I got a private tour of where the poop goes...It did not stink very much. It was similar to entering a dental office...you know there is just a hint of cold sterile mixed with dry socket paste. Well first off the sewage goes into filters and all the non human products get filtered out (tampons, condoms etc--tp is dissolved). These products are then dried and compressed in the Muffin Monster. I think it is so funny they named the muffin monster!!!

Then the water goes to several ponds and undergoes several non chemical steps of sludge removal.
Oxygen is being added here.
In this pic water is trickled over these rocks which have snails, moss, bacteria etc that clean the water. This was the stinkiest place in the whole plant.

Then the water is clean. They add chlorine and some sulfur to make finalize the cleanliness. Then it is dumped into the marshes near Utah Lake. It is pretty amazing. It is pretty clean water. I was impressed at the chemistry involved. There was so many steps that my mind got a bit overwhelmed. My brothers made my first day back in Utah wonderful! I am so grateful that they are my brothers!

Sweet Potato and Gingerbread

This weekend has been a bit more productive than last weekend. I had my step daughter. The plan was to celebrate Christmas. Dan went grocery shopping and picked up some sweet potatoes.

Then expected me to make a pie. I was up for the challenge. Here is the before picture. The butter was a bit chunky...(probably because it was frozen and not quite thawed ha ha ha)

This is the after picture. I have to admit I have never eaten a sweet potato. I have had yams but no sweet potato. I was scared of them. As I was cooking them they smelled an awful lot like regular potatoes. I am not a fan of potatoes, but this delicious pie was great. It was very much like a pumpkin pie. I really liked it.

It looks a little burnt but it is not I assure you.

My next adventure was to make gingerbread houses. This is mine. I started off with Necco wafers for the roof but ran out and had to use starlight mints for the other side of the roof...I am not very good at this.

I love that I have junk in the background of all my pictures. I feel like a slob. I tell myself I am not and I believe myself but pictures tend to show the truth.


Well all in all the weekend went alright.

Captain Dan

Here I am watching Elf. This happens to by one of my favorite Christmas movies...I love that the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.

I love the innocence of Buddy and how the loves everyone and syrup.

Today I had the honor of putting captain bars on my husband's military uniform. We got the news yesterday that his promotion finally came. He has worked so hard for this.

I do not have pictures because I was up in front of everyone and the people who took pictures have yet to email them to me....I hope they do. I get nervous when things like this are out of my control. Anyway, Dan's uncle Curt and his girlfriend came as did Dan's ex-girlfriend and her son (they are still good friends). His mom and sisters did not make it. Nor did his daughter. She said she had other stuff to do, but Dan felt that she was just saying that because she did not want to go. It broke his heart. I wanted to cry last night. It was hard to watch.

Well the ceremony was nice. It was outside in the cold. The soldiers were in formation and they called Dan to post. Then they called Curt and I up and introduced us to everyone. Then as they read the orders I removed the velcro patch on Dan's uniform and placed the captain patch while his uncle removed the Lt pin and replaced it with the captain pin on his hat. It was nice. Pictures were being taken all over the place. So hopefully I will get one. We then went to lunch. It was wonderful. I love Uncle Curt and his girlfriend. They are great people and I am sure we will hang out again. I am thankful for my family who showed support to Dan even in Utah. I am grateful that I have friends and family who give me support no matter how much notice I give them or how far out of the way they have to go!!! I love you all so much!

Curt happens to be an Oregon Ducks football season ticket holder and he says....Buckeyes are going to win. So Jami...Enjoy the game! I hope it is a good one.

? ? ? ?

This morning the moon was so lovely from my opertory window, I had to snap a picture. Sadly this picture does not do the moon justice. It was so large. I could see the 'man in the moon' with amazing detail. I wish I could share with you the great morning moon with you.

I have written this post 3 times now. I think I will end it now....

How great and wonderful is the world we live in? How bad do I hate working out? How come I cannot befriend a 13 year old girl? Why do I love junk food? How great is my husband? Why is he so good to me? How bad to I miss my family? What is the best Christmas movie?

Un-Thankful Me

I am not thankful I am a step parent today. I know I should be but I am not.....I should be taken out to the wood shed and spanked! How dare I not be thankful on Thanksgiving.

New Moon Adventures

I participated in the New Moon craziness this early morning. It was a spontaneous adventure. As usual I went to work at 6 am on Thursday. I left work at 2:30 pm ( I love early Thurs). Dan works at 3:30 pm and so we got to spend a couple minutes together. He suggested going. I was hesitant. First the crowds turn me off. Second I have been awake since the wee hours of the morning (Dan slept in to past 11 am) and I know by midnight I will be exhausted. Well Dan was so excited at the possibility to go that I tucked in for a nap. After my nap I went to get tickets. The local Cinema 16 was showing New Moon in all 16 theaters at midnight so there were plenty of tickets available. As I arrive I turn right around there are so many women. The theater was having a special showing at 9:30 pm and there were thousands of females. So much screaming, screeching, giggling was going on that I did not even inquire about tickets.

Dan was sad. When he got home after 10 pm he wanted to go see if there were tickets left. We gt there and there is not a single available parking spot and there are 2 lines (one for each 'side' of the theater complex) Both lines extend around the building. It was intimidating. Well Dan works his magic and scores us tickets to theater 7. We were the only 2 to purchase tickets for that theater. We leave, go home, and go back shortly before midnight. We get there and the parking lot is empty due to the 9:30 showing ending and all those women leaving. So we got a great parking spot. Next the lines were moving to allow people into the building. Dan grabs me and we totally cut in line and no one noticed. There were just so many people and it looked like we had gotten snacks and gotten back in line. We go to theater 7 and not a single soul is in there. We ended up waiting about 45 minutes before the movie started because of all the people in lines that were not in their theater yet. The movie starts with 8 of us in the theater. Shortly 3 more girls come in, they exchanged their tickets because they waited 3 hours in the Left line and their theater was in the Right line so the only available seats were front row. They were amazed that theater 7 was so empty. It rocked.

Dan loved the movie. I found it alright. I am a Jacob lover and was pleased with that aspect of the movie. Good time was had by all who attended last night. I am glad I have a silly husband who encourages me to attend silly girl movies and allows me to enhance my estrogen that I often try to suppress.

I've Still Got IT

This week I has been the best week in a long time. What made it great? Roses? Chocolate? Money? Sex? No, it was having 3 men hit on me 3 days in a row.

It is really nice to know that I am a desirable woman. I am beautiful. I am smart. I have tons to offer. I am worth something.

It is sad how fast I forget these facts. We are all wonderful women who have so much to offer the world, our jobs, our friends, our families, and our relationships! I am glad Heavenly Father once again sent people into my life to remind me of my worth.

and then I get called a f^*$ing cow.....

Black Bear Diner

Last weekend I took myself to the Black Bear Diner. It was everything I wanted it to be. It was a rustic diner with Bear tracks on the sidewalk leading the way into a black bear wonderland.

Just in case you do not know...I love black bears. My grandfather used to tell me stories about a special black bear. His name was Greasy Bear. He had many adventures. Thanks to family and friends I have many black bear figurines.

Needless to say I love the black bear.

Black bears aside the food was like my beloved Market Grill in Cedar City, Utah. Except these were the best pancakes I have ever had at a diner. They were definitely not the typical 'mix' pancakes. They were so sweet and tasted of cream. Another thing about me...I love breakfast food. I love eating it for dinner. So any place that serves breakfast all day long is in my favorites list. Add to delicious pancakes is homemade sausage. I love fresh made sausage patties hand pressed --not frozen in some pre-formed perfect circle. Then to top it off they serve Pespi products....my favorite....It is a happy place. I am so glad I went there; even going solo was great. Oh did I mention their menu is in newspaper form. It was rustic and charming. I loved everything about this diner. I might have to go back this weekend.

Well, I made it to my first anniversary. It has been a journey for sure. Dan got me a great card and a box of candy with nuts (I hate nuts) I have given him crap about that all week. I think it is in his head forever now that I prefer not to eat nuts. As for what I got him...nothing. What does this say about us? I am not sure. All I know is this week I am so happy being married to him. I think he is exactly what I need.

Went to church. It is a pretty normal ward. A good spread of old and young. Funny thing was today they sustained 4 people to be nursery workers. Soooo maybe Sunbeams??? We shall see.

Party of One...The Loner's Manifesto

November 1 is my anniversary. Today is Halloween. I am being an introvert today. I would rather spend time by myself today. Well really not so much but me is all I have. My friends are with their children my husband is at work until 8 pm. He has been there since 6:30 am. I am not dressing up. I did not purchase any candy to give out. I am not going to answer my door. I think I will take myself out to dinner....

Tomorrow I will be attending my new ward for the first time. I am taking opinions on if my first calling in this ward will be in the nursery/sunbeams. I have been called into this position in every ward I have moved into for the last 12 years. I don't have hopes of breaking the tradition but we shall see. I have not even been to the ward. I am not sure what the demographics will be of this ward. It should be interesting.

The Move

As you know Dan has a 12 year old daughter. She spends every other weekend at our house. Due to that fact we needed to get a place with 2 bedrooms. I found a place near the max (public transportation that I take to work into downtown Portland) near Dan's work, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and cheaper price and less utilities. It's drawback is that it is an apartment. A third floor apartment. But there is a fully functioning work out room and indoor pool so I am not too upset. There is no garage for Dan to tinker in. I am sad about it. But he works as a mechanic and can do tinkering there if needed. He sacrificed the garage to get a bigger and cheaper place for his daughter. What a good dad.
After the final cleaning of that little house I was locking up and I started to cry...how ridiculous! But it was the place I spent the first hard year of my marriage. I am glad the first year is over but I am sad to leave it behind. I hope the little house treats someone else good.
As for packing my stuff. Well Dan and I have opposite schedules right now. So I packed my stuff and moved it by myself and he packed his stuff and got a friend and moved his stuff and some of the heavy stuff. Even though I did my share of the heavy stuff :) I put away my stuff and Dan took care of his. Our marriage is still very segregated. I am sure it is because of me.

Cake gone wrong

It has been a long time since I have posted. I have moved. Packed up my stuff and moved into an apartment. It is bigger than my little house. So I have been busy and have not had the gumption to post. I still have boxes and stacks of stuff everywhere. Luckily the boxes are mostly empty.

Well it is autumn. I have been craving a pumpkin cake. I luckily knew a woman who makes the most delicious pumpkin cake I have ever eaten. I got the recipe. I tried to make it yesterday and failed. If you see the picture the cake is not cake. It is like pie. It is about 1/4 inch thick. It did not raise. I guess my baking powder is bad or my cake 'fell' or the altitude is an issue. I am perplexed. I have not failed at a recipe too often. I will give it another go in a few days. But until then I have a thin dense cake up for grabs as well as some boxes.

Local C Supplier

This group of deliciousness are cinnamon devils. While I am a dental hygienist I must admit that I love cinnamon chewy candy. I love cinnamon bears...not covered in chocolate though. My only problem with packaged c-bears is that they have the potential to be old. I LOVE fresh candy in bulk.

I grew up measuring time through the holidays. I worked at the local grocery

store in Delta....Quality Thriftway. This store introduced me to the cinnamon candy world.
I moved away from Delta and then started counting time between Valentines day where cinnamon lips were available to Christmas when cinnamon santas were ready in stock. Luckily the holiday candy companies have added cinnamon bunnies and cinnamon devils so my only dry spell is the summer.

I have been in Oregon for almost a year and have missed the cinnamon candies. My mom did send me some lips but my dry spell has been long and dehydrating. I was doing some quick grocery shopping and behold my surprise when I rounded the corner near the halloween section...which I was going to bypass since I was in a hurry and it was crowded, but I spotted the c-devils!!! I got about 2 lbs. Dan laughed at me but promptly took a handful. I am so excited that I have my own local source of fresh soft sticky cinnamon candies!!! Life is complete.

On another note; yesterday I had lunch for the first time with Kristie. She was a RDH student at the same time as me. She lived in Washington. She found me via this blog. We have kept in touch ever since that one mean post I had in 05 half way through school. We met yesterday for lunch in Vancouver WA. It was a lot of fun talking about the differences in offices and getting to know each other. She is a kindred RDH. Her sister and her niece are/will be RDH. It is in her blood. She is a full restorative RDH. I am quite jealous of that. Not that I want to do restorative but knowing that there is a license that is one step better than mine is stroking my competitive nature....

Best Toy Store

Why am I showing you a picture of Finegan's? What is Finegan's? This is a large toy store. It is a wonder emporium of toys, games, stuffed animals, activity sets, cars, dolls, trains and all things kids! Finegan's is one block from the dental office I work at in downtown Portland. It is a wonderful place....how about those offices on the second floor? How great would those be? Still cannot beat the view from my office.

I am not doing a post about Finegan's. I want to direct your attention to the trees outside the store. Yes those are Christmas lights....what else can I say.

Seasons Change

Fall is definately here in Portland. Temps have fallen and leaves are turning color and the rain has started. It has been a while since it rained here. Rain is forcasted for every single day this week.

Being from dry Utah the wet Portland weather is alright with me. I mean where else can I get 365 days out of one bottle of lotion?!?!

Well bring on the soup, carmel apples and candy corns!! And who can forget the cinnamon devils...hint hint Delta crew....I could use some.

Let 'er Buck !!

This is all that remains from my weekend. For many of you who do not know what this bag is...let me explain.
I have a recipe for wonderful peanut butter, oatmeal, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, butterscotch, peanut butter chip cookies. They are nummy. They are also fragile. I think it has to do with the chip to dough ratio.

I made a batch of cookies and filled up the Ziploc bag. We munched on them all weekend and traveled over 6 hours with them. I think they held up pretty well.
My adventures this week took Dan, Anna and me to Hermiston. Anna has not been to Hermiston for a couple years and her grandmother was excited to see her as well as her cousins. It was fun all over the place.
Saturday I got tickets to the Pendleton Round-up. This is a rodeo. A huge pro rodeo circuit event. Dan who is from Hermiston (22 miles away) has never been to the round-up, just the parade and party after. I am a rodeo lover. We went to the round-up and I completely loved it. I had the best time. The only draw back was that I lost the mullet bet. Dan, Anna and I had bet the night before about how many mullets we would see. My guess was 7. Anna 7-20 and Dan picked 1-5. I was completely dumb founded when we did not spot one. How shocking.
Even though the cowboys of Eastern Oregon have modern cuts they still are the same, big buckles, tight jeans, climbing bleachers with beers in hand trying not to spill. Great fun! And props to West Haven Ut cowboy who won calf roping--cant remember your name but hey I remember your jeans :)

For Vicki

This is Voodoo Doughnut's maple bacon bar. One of their top sellers...Vicki this is for you

Bring out the hoodies

This is a picture from my opertory window...you can see my reflection hee hee. It was afternoon and cloudy just in time for some rain. I love the view from my window. It is so beautiful. The 'West Hill' is covered in trees and when the clouds are gone it is quite lovely.

What I wanted to note is the tree directly across from my office is starting to turn yellow. Yesterday coming home from work I was walking to the train and the wind rustled the leaves. I was instantly in a leaf storm. Leaves were falling down like rain. It was a surreal moment. It was very magical being in this leaf storm. Yet sad. Leaves falling and turning yellow are indicative of the end of summer. I am not used to Portland summer and it has not been long enough. I feel it just barely warmed up. I understand this is normal for Portland. The good part is that I have this wonderful view of the west side of Portland and get to watch the leaves change and eventually fall off. I am pretty lucky to work and live in such a wonderful city.

Cookies and pancakes

It has been a baking weekend. I love it. It has been so fun. My friend Matthew Ray is moving to Minneapolis. He is a pharmacist for Albertsons and took a position in the great city as district manager of the pharmacies there. There is not Albertsons in MN but there are other parts of the intricate mergers and sister companies. Last night we had a goodbye party. It was a lot of fun. All the Pharmacists and techs that worked at Matt's store as well as some interns and the girls from Starbucks--inside Albertsons came and our significant others. It is weird that I actually mean significant others. One tech is male and brought his fiancee Paul. Yup. Dan and I were the only people who did not drink at the party but everyone made us feel part of the party. It was a great group of people. We had chicken and veggie kabobs with saffron rice, pasta salad, chips and fresh salsa, oreos, chocolate zucchini cake and ice cream. I made the oreos...I am sure you figured that out. No one at this party Dan included had never partaken of a homemade oreo. They were a hit and quickly consumed. I love it when simple foods make everyone so happy!

As you know one of my patients is a culinary instructor in Portland. Her blog linked me to another one titled Wives with Knives. On this blog I found a recipe for Pear Pancake. I am a huge breakfast fan and although I do not love pears I tired the recipe anyway. It was sounded too tempting. My picture is not as elegant as the one on Wives with Knives but you get the idea. You caramelize Anise seeds (gives it a licorice flavor) in a cast iron pan then add pears, cook a bit to brown (mine are a little too done--oops) then add an egg mixture, cook for 5 minutes and then bake for 15. Turn it upside down and serve with syrup and dust with powdered sugar. My only complaint is that the egg mixture instructed me to add 1/2 cup sugar into the egg whites. I think it is too sweet. I like to add syrup to my pancakes therefore usually omit the sugar in all pancake recipes I use frequently. When I make this again I will decrease the sugar and maybe even omit it....with the sweet from the pears it was just too much. But that is me. If you have a few minutes look at the Wives with Knives blog and look to the left. There is a column listing all the previous posts in specific categories. I like the cake one...and the chocolate one and the peach one and....

What a weekend....

I just had the best weekend! Dan and I arranged to have 4 days off work for Labor Day weekend. The original plan was to go to Utah but again that dream was crushed. Instead Friday was completely wonderful. We had a good sleep in and then I ran some errands while I was gone Dan was investigating the prospects of getting orders for active duty. He had some luck and we needed to go to Salem (about an hour south). We were off. Once we made it to the Armory in Salem we found out some more information about jobs for Dan.

While we were in Salem we decided to attend the State Fair. It was delightful. I had so much fun. Dan was the cutest husband ever! We toured the carnival area, the artist area, the vendor area (where we found great sky chairs-I want one), the car area, the tractor area, the horse area, the cow, goat, sheep, etc area. We watched calf roping. I loved it. It was a wonderful eclectic collection of Oregoneons. There was the hippie group, the farmer group, the old timer group, and all in between. I forget that most of Oregon is 'conservative' while Portland is very 'liberal'. It is wonderful to see other 'real' Americans. I loved the fair. The exhibits were wonderful. Dan was completely charming and wonderful.

Saturday and Sunday gave us record amounts of rain...record for Portland..amazing. Needless to say that we were soggy. We had Anna. She did not want to come until Sat afternoon because she was hanging with her cousins. Dan was a little sad. He wanted to spend the whole 4 day weekend with her. It is kind of heartbreaking to watch. We played inside due to the buckets of rain. Sunday afternoon Anna asked to go home now instead of Monday. Dan allowed it. I think he was a little sad when he dropped her off. It was hard.

Monday Dan and I went to the beach. It was wonderful. It was a chilly 63 degrees but that did not stop me from wading in the tide. Dan and I went on a very long walk along the beach. It was completely romantic and wonderful. Dan makes me so happy. We have had some seriously hard times but these past weeks have been like a dream. He is wonderful. I have been wonderful. I am totally in love with my husband. It has been a wonderful weekend!
On our walk we saw this old sea lion. He had gray hairs. He did not look so good. We told the policeman who was patroling the area and so I am not sure the fate of this little guy but I am sure the circle of life occured....

Columbia River sites...just a few

Last weekend was a great weekend; which is saying something because I had a flare up and was in pain Thurs night to Sun. Dan and I had Anna for the weekend. We were planning on going camping at the beach but Friday I pooped out and they decided to stay with me and go do 'local' stuff Saturday.

This pic is of Anna and I at the Vista House. It is an old elegant place overlooking the Columbia River. It is pretty cool.

Dan and Anna at the Vista House.

We traveled down the Historic Highway which was totally lovely! It was just so full of waterfalls, trees, flowers and all sorts of woodland wonderness.

Our next stop was at Stonhenge. I have posted about this before...it is a replica of the one in England. Can you see the cool bridge in the background to the left of the pic. I love driving over this thing. It is so fun to me to be suspended over water....

Next came the Maryhill Museum. It is an old mansion build by Sam Hill. He wanted to start a settlement on the Washington side of the Columbia River. He made this mansion and turned it into an art museum. It had some really cool stuff in there. The third floor was all for Ansel Adams. I really like his stuff. I kind of think Sam Hill was a bit of a perv. He was dear friends with 3 powerful women (queen of Romania, sugar heiress of CA, and famous stage actress) during 1920. They donated a lot of stuff for the museum. That is my speculation and no fact involved.

Sunday Anna and I made ginger peach pies. They were yummy. Since we had the marshmallows out for camping we decided to try roasting them in the oven. It does not work very well. It takes patience and then the taste is just not the same. oh well. I had a wonderful weekend despite the discomfort and plan changes.

A Diamond

I am sure you are aware that I am struggling with being married. I lived a happy single life until I was 34 years old. I am now married to a wonderful man but it is a change. I do not like change. Not only did I move in with someone but that someone was a MAN. I have never lived with a man before. It has changed my world. I have also not had to clean up after other people for more years than I care to remember. I have lived alone or with other females who have cleaned up after themselves. Here I am living with this person who does not clean up after himself and who I care deeply for. I have to share with him too! Can you believe it?

Well I have been reading books and contemplating counseling. For me I think I could benefit from professional perspective. I will go one day. I need to adjust my budget.

Yesterday I was talking to a sister in my ward. She asked about my husband and how he does not go to church anymore. I said that was his choice right now. She asked if he loved me and if he treated me well. I had to admit that he does love me and he does treat me well. She said then he is a diamond. I was taken back by that statement. I have been having issues with the choices He Who Must Not Be Named is making right now. My personal standards of 'perfection' are not in harmony with his choices. I have been thinking of my husband as a diamond. It is true that he is good to me. It is true that I love him. It is true that he loves me. It is true that he has hurt me. It is true that I have hurt him. It is true that I choose to be married to him. It is true I have faults. It is true that he forgives me faster and more truly than I do. I just wanted to tell everyone that I love my husband and that he is a good man with some flaws...but who doesn't??

Yeah for Sisters

Yesterday I received a package in the mail....Yeah mail...It was from my sister Jo Ann. She sent me this book among other things including rocket balloons!

I have been reading a lot of books about marriage. I recognize that I need help. I am not who I want to be. I have read good books and some I only make it part way through because the author's opinion is not the same as mine. I live in Portland. It is a VERY liberal city and thus the books are very liberal. They teach that living together before marriage is good and that what I consider evils are ok and allowable in marriages. I have never wanted a Deseret Book store so bad as I do now.

I had my friend Sara looking at books for me in Utah. She gave a some great titles to order. In the mean time I found a book I loved from the library and ended up buying it. It had many 'truths' but I still wanted an LDS perspective. Lucky for me I have Jo. She mailed this book to me. It is wonderful. The title is a little scary but that is just the authors personality. She is a fun person and tries not to take life too seriously. I am only on page 39 and I have learned so much about myself and how to become a better wife. This book focuses on using the Holy Ghost and Heavenly Father and your own brain to become a better wife, to be the wife your husband married. I cannot tell you how grateful I am to Jo for finding this random book and sending it to me this week--I needed it right now!!!

Another thing this book talked about is that we as women do not talk about our marriages. We bash our husbands but we dont talk about our marriages. It is just too private. While the author agrees that we need to keep our intimate lives with our husbands to ourselves but that we need to realize that everyone is struggling too. And maybe we can help each other. I am excited to finish this book. I have been looking and praying for guidance on how to improve me, on how to make me be the woman I want to be. I am the luckiest woman alive to have friends and family who look after me and help me! Thank you Sara!!!Thank you Jo Ann!!! Thank you Ruth!! and thank you blog members for allowing me to vent in this venue I appreciate all your love and words of wisdom!!! I love you all....

Oh the Smell...

I am sitting here smelling these amazing pies! I wish I could share the buttery gingery peachy smell of these pies. It is heavenly!

One of my patients is a culinary instructor in Porltand she too has a blog 'the portland pickle' (recipe found by linking to the link in her blog post). The other day I saw a post about Kate Neuman's Ginger Peach Pies. I quickly jotted the recipe down. Days later I am at the farmer's market and they had some yummy peaches. I thought 'perfect'. I was soon on my way to assembling the ingredients for these pies.

Well they are done. I have eaten one and it was delicious! Oh the ginger, Oh the buttery crust, Oh my hips....I better get another one....with ice cream....

He Who Must Not Be Named freaked out after my post about the truck. He requested that his life not be published online. As a compromise I made my blog private and now do not mention his name. He is an Intelligence Officer for the military and is paranoid about people finding him through the Internet. Me I am naive enough to believe no one is looking for me...

Interstitial Cystitis is a pain. I think I have had it for at least 2 years probably longer. I have to pee all the time. I am making myself hold it in hope of not shrinking my bladder. For me food does not trigger it. Seasonal allergies do. So far I have not been given meds. That is probably because I have not had my scope yet (next Friday). I am really glad to know other people have this weird condition. When I was describing it to my doctor she thought I was nuts. I changed doctors and she did not know what it was but instantly referred me to a urologist who knew exactly what was going on. So now I am not so freaked out about my weirdness.

Hermiston Watermelon

I finally was able to see a watermelon field. From the second I told Portlanders that my husband was from Hermiston they have told me about the wonderful watermelons. I have never seen a whole field of watermelon and wanted to very badly. Yesterday I went in search of one. I drove around until I found one...a whole 1/2 mile from the house ha ha ha.

He Who Must Not Be Named and I went to Hermiston for the weekend. He Who Must Not Be Named owns a house there. He rents out 2 rooms to his nephew and his friend. Now I was hesitant to rent to mid-twenty year old men but I am so glad we did. These men are wonderful. They are the usual men, they have guns, duck decoys, camo, beer, etc. But these men are the cleanest men I have ever seen! The house has been painted by them, cleaned by them and maintained by them.

I am so appreciative of them and their hard work.

He Who Must Not Be Named and I had the chance to go to Pendleton nearby and tour the underground tunnels. It was great fun. I loved the history of it. The tunnels were made over 100 years ago by Chinese workers. We saw a wall made by white men and it had been repaired and redone etc and it was made less than 100 years ago. Crazy Chinese men and their mad skills in arcitecture! These tunnels and rooms were used for several things. The Chinese had to live there and were required by law to be underground by sundown. We toured a Speak-Easy, an opium den, a bar, a pool house-and bowling alley, ice cream parlor, meat company, laundry room and living quarters of the Chinese. I truly enjoyed it.

There was this watermelon that was marked with an X. Not sure why. Maybe the workers were checking to see the melons were ready. Not sure why they left it like that. Seem like a waste. At least it was good for a picture...nice fly too huh?

Good Old Town...

How weird is Portland? I know PDX has it's issues. Our gay mayor is under scrutiny for having sex with a 17 year old male, and foreclosing on 3 of his personal homes. There have been 10 murders in 7 days on the 'east' side--I live on the east side. Most of the grass in peoples yards is brown/yellow from no water since it has not rained forever. And there are ads on the radio telling us not to water the lawn to conserve the water and that the grass will come back when the rains do. I bring my own bags to the grocery store to avoid getting plastic or paper bags. And last but not least, we just finished a 20 day run of temps over 90. Last Thursday it was 107. Today the high is 71. Last week the city was melting. Firehouses were opening up as 'cooling centers' for people especially elderly to come get relief from the heat (most people do not have A/C like me..I just have a wall unit like hotels have but far less effective) My house was 91 degrees with the 'a/c' on full blast for over 24 hours. Chocolate was melting in my cupboards it was a mess. Right now I am sitting with a jacket on because my arms are cold...I do not get how a city can go to such extremes. I was downtown today and people were walking the streets with jackets and hoodies on. I was refusing to wear one although I did wear long jeans. I love this city and the challenges that it brings. I am grateful I live here. I cannot imagine my life without lemongrass. I love this spice! I love Vietnamese food! I love this sandwich called a 'bun-me' it has lemon grass pork thin slices not very much, cilantro, a cucumber, pickled white carrots and orange carrots, green pepper, basil, and you dip it a fish sauce that has red peppers. It makes my lips and mouth tingle and slightly burn. I LOVE it!

So, went to a urologist....She thinks I have interstitial cystitis. A condition where the lining of my bladder becomes inflamed and hurts. It resembles a UTI but worse. I have to have a scope of my bladder in a few weeks....yikes. But all signs point to curing this horrible pain I have been having :)

What Are the Odds?

I am a letter writer. I love to write letters and mail them. I love receiving letters even more! It is so fun to go to the mailbox and have something beside statements and bills!

My Grandma Jones started me off with letters. One summer she and I wrote to each other every 5 days. She lived in Idaho and it would take 2 days to get there. She would immediately write back and 2 days later I would have my response. I wrote back as fast as I could also. It is a wonderful memory I have.

I have stopped writing letters due to the convenience of email and cell phones. When I was younger it cost a lot to call long distance...now not so much. It is easier and cheaper to stay connected today. But I still long for letters and snail mail. I keep looking for stationary. Major paper companies have some version that is computer friendly...not pen friendly (lined ). I have been hunting for some cute stationary. I have searched all over Portland and pretty much everywhere there is paper I browse to see if they have what I want.

Yesterday I took He Who Must Not be Named 12 yr old daughter to the mall. We had a horrible experience...more about that later. What I found funny is that we went into Sanrio. It is a Hello Kitty store. I am thinking fondly of Maria as I am following the daughter around. I spy some stationary. And sure enough they have this cute stationary. You cannot see it but there is Hello Kitty in the watermark on this paper. I thought how ironic my life is that the only stationary I can find is just TOO CUTE for me to buy. How sad. I was almost excited. I guess I am stuck with email and phone calls.

On to the next story

The bad experience is this...I unexpectedly found myself alone with said daughter for the day. I suggested going downtown to the library so I could get a book that was waiting for me. And then we could walk down to the mall 2 blocks away. Well we get to the mall and she starts asking for me to purchase things for her green bras, hello kitty wallet, sleeveless shirts, ribboned headbands stuffed animals etc. I kept saying no. I said that if she wanted it she would have to wait for her dad to be off work and then bring him back and he could purchase items he thought were appropriate. I said multiple times I did not have money to spend today and that we were just looking. Well we were in a candy store and she came up to me and said...'I want candy. Give me all your money.' I said 'WHAT?' She said I want all your change. I was so floored. Immediately my blood boiled. Money is a private thing for me. I also think money should be earned not given. I turned to her and said 'that is the wrong thing to say to me.' And then I told her we were leaving and I was taking her home. So I did. Of course when her father came home I told him my side of the story. Shortly thereafter I received a call from daughter and she apologized but she thought we were in the mall for the sole purpose of buying her something. I accepted the apology but later when I got off the phone I realized I explained several times that I did not have money and that she would have to ask her father. So she knew we were not there to buy her things. Anyway, I was so hurt by her demanding nature. I do not owe her anything. But from a step daughter point of view is she just testing my boundaries? Does she really believe her father owes her for not being there all the time and therefore she thinks I owe her....I dont know how to be a step mom. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I dont know what to do. And since she has moved with her mom and her step dad to Portland I will be seeing her more often. First off I will let He Who Must Not Be Named know he cannot assume I will be around to 'babysit'/entertain his daughter.

D-day

It is August 1, 2009. This has been D-day for me. It is the day I had to remove my Utah plates.....

I got my Oregon plates the other day and finally put them on my truck. It was kind of sad. I dont know why I am so sentimental about it. My life is in Oregon now. I like it. I truly like living in Portland. There is so much to experience. Plus the weather is so mild. Anyway, I hope He Who Must Not Be Named is proud of me for not putting my whole license plate number online...

Officially I am on vacation until Aug 10. I am sitting at home. It is 9:22 am. He Who Must Not Be Named is still in bed. I am not in Utah, I am not in Crescent City. I am not in bed with He Who Must Not Be Named. I think there is something wrong with this picture. And I am the only one in this house who sees it. That fact sucks. Well once again I am responsible for my own happiness. I better get off the computer and do something about it.

223 Posts Later

This is my 223 post. I am coping Jami and telling you 223 things about myself. Just kidding. I will tell you 23 things....Take notes there will be a quiz.

1. My favorite movie is The Matrix
2. I did not know I had 2 half-brothers until Young Women's Recognition night--got my medallion. So I was 18.
3. I got a D+ in college-only class I did not get an A in. Ha ha ha
4. I love being LDS. I love my testimony of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ
5. I want to speak more spanish
6. I think Hispanics are a beautiful people--especially the men...oh yeah!
7. I yearn to play the piano
8. I do not have a passport
9. I am afraid of being in water where I cannot touch the bottom
10. I have never been snow skiing-or water skiing see #9
11. I sucked my thumb until college
12. I never had braces on my teeth-a miracle seeing as how #11 exists
13. I have 'agg laches' (said egg lakes--transposing the first letters, so dyslexic) or leg aches (headaches in my legs)-no one knows why
14. I bite my nails
15. I enjoy camping
16. I have been to the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans
17. I love my country!!!
18. My favorite holiday is Memorial Day
19. My favorite music artist is Rob Thomas/Matchbox 20 followed by Lifehouse
20. My favorite meal is breakfast
21. I always wanted to be a fat grandma like my Grandma Jones who I knew loved me unconditionally. I felt special around her. I can still feel her love. As a child I differentiated my grandmothers by their weight. I love both grandmothers but I was closer to Gma Jones. I miss her
22. I love the Utah Jazz no matter how many times they break my heart
23. My favorite number is 23

Here are a few things about me. Maybe you already knew some of these things. I share quite a bit.... so maybe you did not learn a thing. But it was fun for me.

Private

Here is the deal. Someone freaked out I put his life on line. I was confused. I honestly thought I was putting my life on line. So he asked me not to put his life on line anymore. Emails and phone conversations are ok. I figured since you have to log in with email that going private counted. So I compromised and went private.

I know I have written posts about a certain person (He Who Must Not Be Named) and have had no repercussion. I am so confused. I asked said person why he freaked out on this post but not other past ones. He said he did. I dont buy it. I honestly do not remember it. I am going crazy and I am tired of it. So I am sorry for any confusion going private may have caused anyone.

Too Much Information

Going private. If I dont have your email you can get me at mairann@live.com Thanks all!

Thanks Friends!

Alright friends. Here I am again. Another week has gone by. I still have 2 more days of work this week...sigh...At least I have some time off work the first part of Aug. Dont know what I am doing for this time off. That remains a mystery. Good thing I like mysteries.

Well I am doing great. I have not felt this good emotionally and physically for several months. I have an appointment with a urologist next week. I think I will be scheduled later for a bladder scope....now that will be fun!! At least I am getting closer to finding out what is wrong with me.

So today I worked my 8 hours-we start at 6:30 finish at 2:30 and am home getting laundry done for the week and all the cleaning....dang my bathroom is a disaster-gross Mair Hair!! Then Dan will be home and hopefully we will do something fun! At least that is my plan. Life is good this week! Honestly. I am happy down to my metatarsals! I think some of my happiness is from your support! I appreciate all you guys have done for me. Thanks for being the great friends you are!

Thank YOU

I want to thank each one of you for your advice. Each of you knows me from a different part of my life and each of you gave me great advice. I am deeply grateful for all the advice. Thank you for being blunt and for telling me exactly what you feel and think.

Thank you again for all your advice and support.

Enlighten Me Please

Friends, I need some enlightenment. As you know last year I purchased a new Toyota Tundra truck. It was a very selfish thing to do. I had been drooling over it for several months. I knew my life was going to change. In January 2008 I had the distinct prompting that I had better get my selfishness out because life was going to change and I would not be able to. I was impressed that I would be married. I scoffed at the idea and wrote in my journal that I was going to have to take care of my parents. Anyway the months went on and several things reminded me of that Divine communication. So I bought the truck. One of the first things Dan said about the truck was that he hated high vehicle payments. Of course my new truck has a high payment but I was single making decent money and had no rent due to great landlords who graciously used me as a baby sitter in trade. Dan has wanted me to sell my truck. I have had it on Craigslist but have not sold it. I do not want to part with it. It is me. It is the last thing I have of my life in Utah. Of my life as a single woman. Of my life as Mary Ann JONES. I have been able to make enough money to be able to afford my truck. Dan has let up on it for now.

The question I have is....What does it mean if I sell it? Many friends have asked if I still have my truck. It is one of the top 3 questions asked. It is even asked before 'Are you pregnant'. So I am wondering. If I sell my truck is it because I have let Dan control me? Does it say I have no identity? Does it say I am giving up my identity? Am I selling out? Why is keeping my truck so important to everyone? Is it because everyone knows I have given up a lot for Dan and this one thing is just too much? (Dan does not think I have sacrificed anything for our marriage since I have not sold a possession)

I need you to be frank and candid. I need the bluntness. I am struggling with being married. I was single for a LONG time. I do not have the proper perspective. Please give me advice and tell me what I am missing. The more honest you are the better. I will still love you and value your opinion!

Sand and Sun in Portland

Hello from Bart. He was created at the Sand in the City sand castle contest. Teams competed in this contest and then donations are taken at the door to raise money for a children's charity 'Kids on the Block'. Anyway, I love the Simpsons!

Gotta scrub the dog! Check out the bubbles. I am amazed at the detail of the sand.

Where the wild things are....I might be burned at the steak but I am not the biggest fan of the book and not sure about the movie. But I did love this sand sculpture.

Last but not least, is Smurfette. There was more to this but I did not get the picture. There was a river and another smurf floating down the river and Papa Smurf by a house. I love this pic the most because it reminds me of my mom. I miss my mom very much. I am tearing up now....One Christmas my mom had purchased her own gift and wrapped it and everything. It was a pair of sweat pants and shirt. They were both blue. Smurf blue. Later that morning she came out of her room looking so cute in her blue and we nicknamed her Mama Smurf. Due to our ridicule she changed her clothes immediately. We felt bad but the nickname has become a term of endearment. I love my mom.

Sad sad sad days

I have a cavity. I am so bummed, dissappointed, embarrassed and frustrated.

That is about all that has happened this week. Other than the highs this week being in the high 70's to low 80's. It has been so pleasant here in Portland! I love it!

Eagle Creek at 5 am.

Happy 4th of July! I hope you had a great one.

I did not succumb to the ice cream/potato chip option for the weekend. Dan was trying to appease me and set up a tent in the back yard. I wanted to sleep out there without a tent but I guess I am in a city...

We went to bed around midnight and at 4 am Dan gets up. He takes his pillow and leaves me alone. I was so enjoying the cool night air and being cozy in the tent. I asked if he was coming back, he said no.

So I decided if I was going to be alone today I could be lonely in the mountain. So I got up, showered, and headed out to hike Eagle Creek. I got there just before 5:30 am. So this is me standing in the creek at the butt crack of dawn with no make-up.

This is called Punch Bowl Falls. It was quite lovely. The picture does not do it justice. Maybe you have to hear it and see the water swirling before it falls into the bowl to get the full effect.

This last picture is of me (looking like it is 6 am) at Tish Creek. It was a great hike. I was all alone on the hike until about 8 am. Then I started passing people on my way back.

So far it has been an ok day. I got home after 9 am and Dan was just getting into the shower. So I laid down for a min and then we ran errands for a while. We got a new tent since our last one was a little dysfunctional. It is set up in the back yard for tonight. I am pretty excited for round 2.

So the lawn is not mowed and the dishes are not done but I am relaxing pretty well while Dan is helping all the out-of-town-car-broken-down people.